FAAC shelves 3 consecutive meetings over disagreement with NNPC

The Federation Accounts Allocation Committee meeting for May 2018 again ended in deadlock Thursday last week, making it the third consecutive time the meeting will be suspended in recent times.

The meeting which was to consider and approve revenue disbursement among the three tiers of government was suspended indefinitely following the disagreements with Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation over remittances into the Federation Account.

Chairman, Commissioners of Finance Forum, Mr Mahmood Yunusa, had at the end of the rescheduled meeting, said the NNPC had refused to meet its revenue obligations to the Federation Account.

He said Committee therefore agreed to suspend meetings indefinitely until an effective revenue collection process is implemented, even as the states vow to continue with the battle until the right thing was done.

“FAAC meetings have been suspended until a more effective collection method is established.

“What we are looking for is for the process to be strengthened, once the process is strengthened there is no need for this fight. It is about the system and the process and we are working on it. It is no longer a joking matter, it has gone to the highest level.

“Mr President is highly interested in this and he is taking his time to ensure that the right thing is done.”

He said apart from ensuring that the right revenue was remitted, there was a need for the government to strengthen the operational processes of the corporation.

“We want to strengthen and deepen this process; once the process is strengthened, the correct amount is supposed to go to the federation’s revenue account. Even if it is small, we cannot challenge the NNPC. So, we are also helping the NNPC from undue pressure,” he stated.

Yunusa said that the decision to hold NNPC accountable came with a price, meaning some states may not be able to pay salaries. He, however, expressed the hope that once the process was completed, it would serve as a permanent solution to the reoccurring issue of under-remittance by NNPC.

“We know that people are facing difficulties but this is a sacrifice that all of us must do to get out of this problems of the NNPC’s underpayment. If the process is operated the way it is supposed to, nobody will complain.

Recall that earlier FAAC meetings scheduled for June 27 and July 10 both ended in stalemates over allegations of revenue underpayment levelled against the NNPC.

The committee is insisting that the NNPC only remitted N127billion into the Federation Account, as against the N147billion the corporation claim to have remitted.